Download or read book Spies at Mount Vernon written by Steven K. Smith and published by Myboys3 Press. This book was released on 2018-09-06 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dead drops, cyphers, and invisible ink are all part of a mystery that even spymaster George Washington would love. Sam, Derek, and Caitlin love solving mysteries, and when they visit Washington, DC, spies are lurking. What starts out as a fun game of pretend on the National Mall turns all too real when they follow a mysterious man to a meeting deep within the Capitol. To keep government secrets from falling into the wrong hands, the kids must work with federal agents and travel to historic Mount Vernon for a state dinner with the president and his son. Dead drops, cyphers and spy chases are all part of what might be their most dangerous adventure ever--if it isn't their last. Spies at Mount Vernon is the seventh book in The Virginia Mysteries series, but it also makes a great standalone read. The story is the perfect complement to social studies units covering George Washington as well as field trips and family vacations to Washington, DC and Mount Vernon. If you enjoy mystery and adventure like the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Magic Tree House, or National Treasure, you'll love author Steven K. Smith's exciting middle-grade series. The stories are modern-day fictional mysteries with twists of real locations and events from Virginia history. These fast-paced books are popular with both boys and girls ages 7-12, appealing to even reluctant readers Buy Spies at Mount Vernon and unlock the adventure today

Download or read book Saving Monticello written by Marc Leepson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-03-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complete history of Thomas Jefferson's iconic American home, Monticello, and how it was not only saved after Jefferson's death, but ultimately made into a National Historic Landmark. When Thomas Jefferson died on the Fourth of July 1826, he was more than $100,000 in debt. Forced to sell thousands of acres of his lands and nearly all of his furniture and artwork, in 1831 his heirs bid a final goodbye to Monticello itself. The house their illustrious patriarch had lovingly designed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, his beloved "essay in architecture," was sold to the highest bidder. So how did it become the national landmark it is today? Saving Monticello offers the first complete post-Jefferson history of this American icon and reveals the amazing story of how one Jewish family saved the house that became their family home. With a dramatic narrative sweep across generations, Marc Leepson vividly recounts the turbulent saga of this fabled estate. Monticello's first savior was the mercurial U.S. Navy Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, a sailor celebrated for his successful campaign to ban flogging in the Navy and excoriated for his stubborn willfulness. In 1833, Levy discovered that Jefferson's mansion had fallen into a miserable state of decay. Acquiring the ruined estate and committing his considerable resources to its renewal, he began what became a tumultuous nine-decade relationship between his family and Jefferson's home. After passing from Levy control at the time of the commodore's death, Monticello fell once more into hard times. Again, a member of the Levy family came to the rescue. Uriah's nephew, a three-term New York congressman and wealthy real estate and stock speculator, gained possession in 1879. After Jefferson Levy poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into its repair and upkeep, his chief reward was to face a vicious national campaign, with anti-Semitic overtones, to expropriate the house and turn it over to the government. Only after the campaign had failed, with Levy declaring that he would sell Monticello only when the White House itself was offered for sale, did Levy relinquish it to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in 1923. Pulling back the veil of history to reveal a story we thought we knew, Saving Monticello establishes this most American of houses as more truly reflective of the American experience than has ever been fully appreciated.

Download or read book Patina Style written by Brooke Giannetti and published by Gibbs Smith. This book was released on 2011-09-01 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Giannettis have developed a home design style that embraces age, patina, weathered and worn surfaces, and rough surfaces. Patina Style is a color palette, a romance with subtlety, an attraction to natural materials and architectural details. It is at once old-world, contemporary, and mildly industrial. Patina Style gives insight into materials choices, methods and treatments that result in spaces that celebrate beauty in the old, the imperfect, the slightly roughed-up.

Download or read book Monticello written by Thomas Jefferson Foundation and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2016 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first time, Monticello has an official guidebook that reflects the unique statesman and inventor Thomas Jefferson, his home, and his world. Showcasing the recent restoration of the home and plantation, it features information about the slaves of Mulberry Row, as well as the state-of-the-art visitor and education center. Each of the guide's 144 pages is designed to showcase the topics in its five chapters: Thomas Jefferson, Before Your Visit, The House, The Plantation, and the Neighborhood. Photographs, art and cutaways, and maps accompany featured stories both iconic and little-known from Monticello's curators.

Download or read book Dining with the Washingtons written by Stephen Archie McLeod and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2011 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining vivid photography with engaging essays, Dining with the Washingtons explores the menus, diet, and styles of entertaining that characterized the beloved home of the nation's principal founding father. Compelling accounts, historic artwork, and images of gardens, table settings, prepared food, and objects from the Mount Vernon collection blend to shed fresh light on the daily lives of George and Martha Washington, on their ceaseless stream of household guests and those who served them, and on the ways food and drink reflected the culture of eighteenth-century America. Featuring a foreword by former White House executive chef Walter Scheib and more than 90 historic recipes adapted for today's kitchens by renowned culinary historian Nancy Carter Crump, this book is ideal for veteran and novice cooks alike as well as for those wishing to learn about both formal and everyday dining at Mount Vernon. Drawing from a wide range of sources, including memoirs, diaries, plantation documents, archaeological research, and the personal correspondence of the Washington family and their visitors, this charming volume brings the household of America's first president and his wife vividly to life for modern-day readers. The contributors are: Steven T. Bashore, Manager of Historic Trades, Mount Vernon Carol Borchert Cadou, Robert H. Smith Senior Curator and Vice President for Collections, Mount Vernon Nancy Carter Crump, author and founder, Culinary Historians of Virginia J. Dean Norton, Director of Horticulture, Mount Vernon Dennis J. Pogue, Vice President of Preservation, Mount Vernon Walter Scheib, former executive chef, The White House Mary V. Thompson, Research Historian, Mount Vernon Esther White, Director of Archaeology, Mount Vernon

Download or read book Martha Jefferson Randolph Daughter of Monticello written by Cynthia A. Kierner and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2012-05-14 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the oldest and favorite daughter of Thomas Jefferson, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph (1772-1836) was extremely well educated, traveled in the circles of presidents and aristocrats, and was known on two continents for her particular grace and sincerity. Yet, as mistress of a large household, she was not spared the tedium, frustration, and great sorrow that most women of her time faced. Though Patsy's name is familiar because of her famous father, Cynthia Kierner is the first historian to place Patsy at the center of her own story, taking readers into the largely ignored private spaces of the founding era. Randolph's life story reveals the privileges and limits of celebrity and shows that women were able to venture beyond their domestic roles in surprising ways. Following her mother's death, Patsy lived in Paris with her father and later served as hostess at the President's House and at Monticello. Her marriage to Thomas Mann Randolph, a member of Congress and governor of Virginia, was often troubled. She and her eleven children lived mostly at Monticello, greeting famous guests and debating issues ranging from a woman's place to slavery, religion, and democracy. And later, after her family's financial ruin, Patsy became a fixture in Washington society during Andrew Jackson's presidency. In this extraordinary biography, Kierner offers a unique look at American history from the perspective of this intelligent, tactfully assertive woman.

Download or read book Presidential Retreats written by Peter Hannaford and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating history of U.S. presidential vacation spots—collected for the first time in one guide that covers everything from Mount Vernon to Kennebunkport to Camp David. Where do you go to relax when you’re the leader of the free world? Even the president needs to get away from it all sometimes. From George Washington to Barack Obama, each of our presidents has sought solace from the tightly structured daily routines of the White House. As Ronald Reagan once said of his California ranch, “I do some of my best thinking there.” Peter Hannaford takes readers on a fascinating armchair vacation with each of our leaders, offering unique historical context for the why and the where of their chosen retreats. Which president asked visiting foreign dignitaries to send him seeds to plant at his family home? Who called his vacation property “Sherwood Forest” because it was “a good place for an outlaw”? Which adventure-loving Commander-in- Chief set up a Summer White House in New York every year? Who liked to cruise aboard the presidential yacht when faced with momentous wartime decisions? Who polled the American people to help him decide where to vacation? Presidential Retreats explores a side of the American presidency that we don’t often see—the downtime—as it offers an intriguing glimpse at the evolution of leisure time in this country.

Download or read book George Washington s Mount Vernon written by Robert F. Dalzell and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-02-24 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " ... The details of Washington's 45-year-long campaign to build and perfect Mount Vernon."--Jacket.

Download or read book Escape from Monticello written by Steven K. Smith and published by Virginia Mysteries. This book was released on 2019-12-02 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Letters in a mysterious journal between two sisters describe a lost collection and a missing treasure. As Sam, Derek, and Caitlin realize the letters were from Thomas Jefferson's granddaughters, they set out to do what they do best--solve the mystery! When the journal is stolen, the kids are forced to hunt down clues by following Jefferson's footsteps to The University of Virginia, his mountaintop home of Monticello, and a little-known retreat called Poplar Forest. But this isn't a typical walk through history. Someone from the kids' past is lurking in the shadows, bent on revenge and threatening to take much more than just the treasure. Escape from Monticello is the eighth book in The Virginia Mysteries series. The story is the perfect complement to social studies units, field trips, and family vacations related to Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, and Jack Jouett.

Download or read book Plantations of Virginia written by Charlene C. Giannetti and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-02-01 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Southern plantations are an endless source of fascination. That’s no surprise since these palatial homes are rich in history, representing a pivotal time in U.S. history that truly is “gone with the wind.” With the Civil War literally exploding all around, many of these homes were occupied either by Confederate or Union troops. Nowhere else in the south were plantations so affected by the nation’s bloodiest war than in Virginia. At times, families fled, leaving behind slaves to manage the property. There are still more than 60 plantations in Virginia today, most of them open to the public. Some have been restored, others undergoing that process. If only the walls could talk, the stories we might hear! That’s what we hope to bring into this book on The Plantations of Virginia. We’ll take the tours and talk to the guides and dig even further if there is more to discover. We hope that travelers will be enlightened before they travel to Virginia, their visits will thus be enriched, and that residents will equally love exploring this deep history of Virginia. Accompanying the text will be photographs, taken by one of the authors, showing, in all their splendor, the exteriors of these plantations, as well as areas of interest inside the buildings.

Download or read book Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites written by Kristin L. Gallas and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-12-23 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites aims to move the field forward in its collective conversation about the interpretation of slavery—acknowledging the criticism of the past and acting in the present to develop an inclusive interpretation of slavery. Presenting the history of slavery in a comprehensive and conscientious manner is difficult and requires diligence and compassion—for the history itself, for those telling the story, and for those hearing the stories—but it’s a necessary part of our collective narrative about our past, present, and future. This book features best practices for: Interpreting slavery across the country and for many people. The history of slavery, while traditionally interpreted primarily on southern plantations, is increasingly recognized as relevant at historic sites across the nation. It is also more than just an African-American/European-American story—it is relevant to the history of citizens of Latino, Caribbean, African and indigenous descent, as well. It is also pertinent to those descended from immigrants who arrived after slavery, whose stories are deeply intertwined with the legacy of slavery and its aftermath. Developing support within an institution for the interpretation of slavery. Many institutions are reticent to approach such a potentially volatile subject, so this book examines how proponents at several sites, including Monticello and Mount Vernon, were able to make a strong case to their constituents. Training interpreters in not only a depth of knowledge of the subject but also the confidence to speak on this controversial issue in public and the compassion to handle such a sensitive historical issue. The book will be accessible and of interest for professionals at all levels in the public history field, as well as students at the undergraduate and graduate levels in museum studies and public history programs.

Download or read book Dining at Monticello written by Damon Lee Fowler and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recipes, background essays, anecdotes, and lush illustrations provide an inviting view of the renowned hospitality offered at Thomas Jefferson's table at Monticello.

Download or read book Founding Gardeners written by Andrea Wulf and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-04-03 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of The Invention of Nature, a fascinating look at the Founding Fathers like none you've seen before. “Illuminating and engrossing.... The reader relives the first decades of the Republic ... through the words of the statesmen themselves.” —The New York Times Book Review For the Founding Fathers, gardening, agriculture, and botany were elemental passions: a conjoined interest as deeply ingrained in their characters as the battle for liberty and a belief in the greatness of their new nation. Founding Gardeners is an exploration of that obsession, telling the story of the revolutionary generation from the unique perspective of their lives as gardeners, plant hobbyists, and farmers. Acclaimed historian Andrea Wulf describes how George Washington wrote letters to his estate manager even as British warships gathered off Staten Island; how a tour of English gardens renewed Thomas Jefferson’s and John Adams’s faith in their fledgling nation; and why James Madison is the forgotten father of environmentalism. Through these and other stories, Wulf reveals a fresh, nuanced portrait of the men who created our nation.

Download or read book Thomas Jefferson s Monticello written by Charles Granquist and published by Legacy Words. This book was released on 1983 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pictorial look at Thomas Jefferson's historic Virginia estate, Monicello.

Download or read book The Last King of America written by Andrew Roberts and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies and went mad in his old age. The truth is much more nuanced and fascinating--and will completely change the way readers and historians view his reign and legacy. Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon--a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities. The best-known modern interpretation of him is Jonathan Groff's preening, spitting, and pompous take in Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway masterpiece. But this deeply unflattering characterization is rooted in the prejudiced and brilliantly persuasive opinions of eighteenth-century revolutionaries like Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, who needed to make the king appear evil in order to achieve their own political aims. After combing through hundreds of thousands of pages of never-before-published correspondence, award-winning historian Andrew Roberts has uncovered the truth: George III was in fact a wise, humane, and even enlightened monarch who was beset by talented enemies, debilitating mental illness, incompetent ministers, and disastrous luck. In The Last King of America, Roberts paints a deft and nuanced portrait of the much-maligned monarch and outlines his accomplishments, which have been almost universally forgotten. Two hundred and forty-five years after the end of George III's American rule, it is time for Americans to look back on their last king with greater understanding: to see him as he was and to come to terms with the last time they were ruled by a monarch.

Download or read book The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret written by Mary V. Thompson and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "American historians began producing in-depth studies of slavery and slave life shortly after World War II, but it was not until the early 1980s that the country's museums took the first tentative steps to interpret those same controversial topics. Perhaps because of the tremendous amount of primary material related to George Washington, almost no one looked into the lives of Mount Vernon's enslaved population. Incorporating the results of detailed digging, of both the archaeological and archival varieties, the number of chapters grew as further questions arose. While a few scholars outside Mount Vernon turned their attention to Washington's changing ideas about slavery, they largely overlooked the daily lives of those who were enslaved on the estate, a subject about which visitors expressed a desire to know more. The resulting book makes use of a wide range of sources, including letters, financial ledgers, work reports, travel diaries kept by visitors to Mount Vernon, the reminiscences of family members, former slaves, and neighbors, reports by archaeologists, and surviving artifacts to flesh out the lives of a people who left few written records, but made up 90 percent of the estate's population. The book begins with a look at George and Martha Washington as slaveowners, before turning to various facets of slave life ranging from work, to family life, housing, foodways, private enterprise, and resistance. Along the way, readers will see a relationship between Washington's military career and his style of plantation management, learn of the many ways slaves rebelled against their condition, and get to know many of the enslaved people who made Mount Vernon their home"--

Download or read book George Washington s Mount Vernon written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: